Two Girls Far From Home
by bookwormwithanattitude
Summary: Stuck in the cabin on a cold night, Winry runs into May and her panda- they have a conversation about pets, broken families, Winry's questionable (according to May) taste in men and find out they have more in common than they thought.


Winry woke up late at night, chilled to the bone and really missing her dog.

It was weird to miss something silly like her dog, considering all the other people she was separated from- Mr. Garfiel, Paninya and Granny were all surely worried about her at this point. She wished she could just pick up the phone and tell them she was okay. But her concerns tonight were more practical- she was cold, and she found herself recalling how she used to snuggle up against Den for warmth during the frosty nights in Resembool.

There was no one the snuggle up against here in the icy isolated cabin she shared with her parents' killer, a small Xingese girl, a fugitive former doctor, a corrupt ex-coalminer, two chimeras and her childhood friend. Though she had slept huddled against Al and Ed all the time when they were little, Al didn't have any body heat in his current state. She didn't see him here anyway, he was probably taking a walk. She hoped he was sticking close to the cabin, what if he collapsed again? She didn't want to think about it.

She shifted restlessly in her blankets. There was only one bed in this place and they had given it to May. It was only fair, she was the youngest. But this floor wasn't very comfortable.

She saw something black and white flash out of the corner of her eye. _Den?_ She thought wildly for a second, but of course not. It was May's panda, Shao May, padding across the floor. The little creature was so strange. May had said it was an animal native to Xing called a panda that had a growth disorder- it did look more like a tiny bear than a cat, but Winry had never seen a bear with a black-and-white pattern like that. Xing probably had all kinds of other animals Winry couldn't imagine.

Shao May was shivering. Winry could hear her making tiny chattering sounds. She was such a little ball of fluff, it was pitiful. Winry sat up and beckoned for the panda. "Hey, I'm cold too. C'mere, we'll warm each other up."

To her surprise, the panda jumped right into her arms. Winry stroked her head. It was surprisingly soft fur, a lot like Den's…

"Hey!"

Winry flinched in surprise. She hadn't heard May approaching at all, but the little girl had followed not far behind her panda.

"Sorry!" Winry whispered, offering the little thing back to her owner. "I didn't know you were with her."

"It's okay, you can keep holding her. I was going to make some hot tea to warm us up," May said, crouching down beside Winry. "She didn't wake you, did she?"

Winry shook her head. "I was already up."

"Be careful she doesn't bite you," May warned.

Winry paused in her stroking for a second. She hadn't known the panda was a biter. Then she continued her petting. "I don't think she will. She seems like she just wants to be warm right now. Even if she does, I can take it. I've been bitten before. My dog bit us all the time when she was a puppy."

"You have a dog?"

"Yeah! Her name is Den. And when she was puppy, she looked just like this cutie!" Winry giggled as Shao May rubbed her head against her hand. She really acted more like a cat than a bear.

May grinned at this. "She likes you! Shao May has a good sense about people. She can tell when they're the type to be kind to animals! That's how I know Mr. Scar really likes cute animals even if he won't admit-" May gasped suddenly and put her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I forgot that you two…"

"It's okay," Winry said, forcing herself to keep smiling. To be honest, just staying in the same cabin with Scar had been painfully awkward. She mostly ignored him and avoided looking at him.

"I-I know what he did to you was really bad.." May said looking down at her knees. "I-I'm sorry I still….I just… he really is very kind in his own way and he's helped me a lot and I can't just-"

"It's okay," Winry repeated, and she meant it this time. May looked like she was about to cry in her effort to try to get Winry to understand. "Knowing that he's at least done good things for you…that makes me feel like my parents and I made the right decision in saving ."

May's head snapped up, her face flush with relief. "Really?"

"Uh huh."

"I'm so glad! Um, you know…" she twiddled her thumbs, her expression turning a bit melancholy. "I-I do understand about not having parents. I mean, my dad is still alive, but I've never met him and I know he doesn't care about any of us. My Mom…she got sick and died when I was really little. He could have gotten her a really good healer but he wouldn't even see her. He didn't come to her funeral either. It's like she wasn't anything to him."

"I'm really sorry to hear that," Winry said softly. "I bet it's been really tough for you, on your own, with so much responsibility."

May shrugged. "I just don't want to let down the people depending on me. It's like you said about your customers back then. Right now, I feel like I'm letting them down."

Winry put Shao May gently in her lap and then put her hand on May's shoulder. "It's not like me, May. Your people depend on you a lot more than my customers depend on me." She was going to say "I mean, they'll _survive _without me after all", but she figured that was bit too blunt. "I can't imagine being as young as you are, coming to a country all by myself and working so hard. You're really brave and amazing. You should never feel like you're letting anyone down. Anyone can see you're trying with all your might."

May smiled. "Thank you. You know, you seem really nice. Now I really hope we don't have to become romantic rivals in the future."

It took a few seconds for Winry to get what May was talking about. "_Oh. _Al. You're still on about that? Don't worry, like I told you, it's really not like that with me and him. Actually, I'm in love with Ed."

That had just slipped out. It was the first time she'd actually said that out loud to someone. It was a bit nerve-wracking to have it out there. This was not made better by the fact that May's reaction was some weird cross between a giggle and a snort.

"Seriously? _Why?"_

_"_Hey, he's not_ that_ bad," Winry said, a bit offended.

"He's a rude, crude bean-sized midget with the face of a monster," May said, shuddering. Shao May shuddered with her. Winry would have never thought she could feel betrayed by a panda.

"Okay, so he's short and he's a blockhead, but come on, he is not bad-looking! You've never seen him with his shirt off, May!" Winry couldn't believe she was defending her choice in men to a pre-teen.

"I'm just saying,when I choose a man I want the dashing prince, not the fire-breathing dragon in miniature," May said primly, smoothing her clothes.

"Ed can be really sweet when he wants to be! And you could not find someone more loyal and dedicated- you know he would do pretty much anything to get Al's body back, right?"

"He'd better," May grumbled. "How are Alphonse and I going to have a real wedding night if he doesn't have a body?"

"Uh, wow, you're moving a little fast there…"

"I will admit," May said, with the air of a girl making a great sacrifice, "he did seem to be awfully…gentle and protective with you before he left. It was almost…gentleman-like. I'm not saying I don't think he doesn't like you." She bit her lip. "I just think you're probably too good for him."

Winry decided to take that as a compliment. "Thanks. But I don't think it matter who's too good for who, he's the one for me."

May shrugged. "You can have him. I will happily take his much more charming brother."

Winry smiled. "Go for it. If we both get our guys, that means we'll be sisters in law, right?"

May looked please at this. "It would be nice to have a sister I don't have to fight for the throne."

A gust of frigid wind blew past the cottage, rattling the windows. May shivered.

"I was wishing earlier that I had my dog with me," Winry said. "We'd cuddle for warmth on nights like these."

"My Mom used to always keep me warm on cold nights," May said wistfully. "Now I keep Shao May warm. I guess I've become a mom in her place."

Winry felt a little twinge in her chest like this. Sometimes she and Den had crawled into her parents' bed…

"Hey, how about you get under these blankets?" Winry said, lifting them up. "We'll all keep each other warm tonight."

May nodded enthusiastically, diving under the covers with Shao May. She curled up against Winry, and her panda did the same on top of her. Stroking the little girl's hair as she fell asleep, Winry really did feel a little like a mom. This girl, apparently fearsome in a fight, was so small, and looked so defenseless as she slept. That was kinda like Ed. And also like him, this girl was determined to take on the world before she even hit puberty.

May really was more amazing than she knew. Winry felt suddenly glad to have met her. She really had a lot of things she'd like to talk to this brave little girl about.

Like whether they had automail in Xing.

The night wore on, and the two girls far from home slept soundly together, taking refuge in each other and sharing all the warmth they could.


End file.
